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Friday, December 04, 2009

You're Up, New Jersey

Right on the heels of the bigots in the New York Senate voting for discrimination, word comes that a marriage equality proposal will be considered by a New Jersey Senate committee next week, and perhaps put to a vote soon after.

I would ask those Senators who are still on the fence, or who are looking at this issue from the other side of the fence, to realize that it's isn't marriage they're voting on, it's equality. And you have no excuse not to vote for equality. I ask that they take a little time out of their busy schedules to listen to New York Senators Hassell-Thompson and Savino, and understand that this is not a religious issue, or a vote against so-called traditional marriage. This is, quite simply, a civil rights issue.

I've said it before and, yes, I'll say it again:

If any religious leader or institution does not wish to marry a gay couple then they have that right. And I'm saying right here and now, that I will be on the side of the church if that battle ever raises it's ugly head. See how that works? I fight for the rights of the church, and the church ought to fight for mine.

Now, onto traditional marriage. It has changed ever since the institution was created; we've gone from polygamy to monogamy; from marrying for power and profit, to marrying, hopefully, simply for love; from marrying only those who share your religious views to being free to marry any person you choose; from marrying only inside your own race, to being free to marry for love.

You straight people have been redefining marriage for thousands of years. The Gays are not seeking to redefine it, we just want to have the opportunity to do it. And trust me when I say that we won't be any worse at it than you are: 52% of all traditional marriages end in divorce. Maybe, just maybe, with The Gays marrying, that percentage will fall.